Video in demand
Two of the hottest trends in technology have one major factor in common: video on demand. This year's CES will be dominated by the latest developments in media tablets and Internet TV, and one of the major purposes of both will be accessing video content wherever and whenever you want.
The delivery of said video to a market that can apparently not tolerate a fallow second without cramming it full of televisual stimulation is already a large market, and one with almost limitless potential. So the race to become the dominant video provider to these devices is a critical one, with the highest stakes.
That's why we expect to see Apple build on its nascent TV efforts, Google to persist with its own, despite teething problems, and Rovi, Netflix, Hulu, etc to have a big CES. But we also expect the world's dominant e-tailer to play a big part in this market.
According to rumours first published by the Sunday Times (which we can't link to because it's subscription-only and seems to be hidden from Google), Amazon is looking to acquire the 58 percent of UK direct video retailer Lovefilms it doesn't already own.
This could well be part of a general acquisition spree from Amazon of national direct video providers, with the aim of bolstering its existing video e-tail operation with a strong VOD offering.
That's about it for now, there's no comment from either company that we're aware of, but this seems like a pretty plausible move, and look for VOD to be a recurring theme this year.
